3/16/2009 @ 9:30AM

No Bidding War For CV Therapeutics

It took a deal with another company for Japan’s Astellas Pharma to finally realize that it was not wanted by CV Therapeutics and the biotech’s shareholders.

On Monday,
Astellas Pharma
withdrew its hostile bid for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based biotech, citing the recent deal between
Gilead Sciences
and
CV Therapeutics
as too pricey to counter. “Astellas is a disciplined acquirer and does not see value for Astellas stockholders in CV Therapeutics at the price level of the sale announced on March 12,” Astellas said in a statement to the press.

Astellas will also withdraw a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court against CV Therapeutics and its directors.

The $16.00 per share offer from Astellas, which valued the U.S. company at $1.0 billion, was turned down by CV Therapeutics privately before Astellas took the bid public in January. (See “CV Board Doesn’t Have The Heart To Sell.”) After a public rejection by the maker of heart drug Ranexa, Tokyo-based Astellas took the bid to shareholders in late-February. (See “CV Therapeutics To Astellas: No Thanks.”)

CV was saved from the hostile bid by Gilead Sciences, which makes the HIV drugs Truvada, Viread and Atriplia. (See “Sir Gilead Is CV’s White Knight.”) The Foster City, Calif.-based company signed a definitive agreement to acquire CV last week for $20.00 per share, or $1.4 billion. CV’s board approved the Gilead bid. Gilead said the transaction would be dilutive to its earnings in 2009, neutral to accretive in 2010, and accretive in 2011.

Gilead’s shares edged up 32 cents, or 0.7%, to $45.75 in premarket trading on Monday, while CV shares lost 4.7%, or 97 cents, to trade at $19.70. Shareholdres of CV appeared disappointed by the failure of a bidding war developing.

The matchup with Gilead will give CV a better platform to market Ranex than it would have been able to handle on its own.